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Mikey W

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Everything posted by Mikey W

  1. Thank you Steve and Selwyn for your information. Exactly what was needed. I knew I could count on the gentlemen and scholars on this friendly site. All the best, Mike W.
  2. I'm finishing an Airfix Wellington Mk.1 and I'm at the point of fitting the bomb load. I've saved and watched the video of servicing a Wellington bomber and very interesting and informative it was too. Back along, I remember our learned members posting diagrams of various loading options on Wellingtons and information on the colour stripes on the bombs themselves. I've tried the search on this site using various descriptions and combinations. Either I get '0 results found' or pages and pages going way back into the space-time-continuum that use one of the search words or combinations thereof. Could one of you kind souls repost what I'm looking for or give me the 'key' words to use in search. Thanks in advance for saving me hours of modelling time, Mike W.
  3. Mikey W

    1/72 B-17

    Another great subject and another possible can of worms! Earlier, e8n2 (post #12) made comment about the Tokyo tanks and vents on the upper sides of the wingtips. From the extensive searching that I have done, in my small but select library, I have gleaned the following. Tokyo tanks were installed on the production line from B-17F-80-BO 42-29932 on, B-17F-25-DL 42-3074 on, and B-17F-30-VE 42-5855 on. They began arriving in the E.T.O. in May of 1943. The 100th was one of the first groups equipped as it arrived in June of that year. The main sources were "Fortresses of the Big Triangle First" by Cliff T. Bishop and "The Mighty Eighth War Manual" by Roger A. Freeman. I presume, though I cannot confirm (yet), that all B-17G's would have them. I hope that helps. While I'm here, and still with the picture that e8n2 (post #12) posted and is a pet peeve, of mine, when modelling B-17's. Please note that the vents behind the engines are not exhausts but air outlets. Smoke, dirt and oil marks lift off over them but muck will pass between them. Thanks, Mikey W.
  4. Greetings KRK4m, Wow, blast from the past! In the late 60's and early 70's I was a contributor to 'Scale Modeler' magazine. Under my name of Mike Wightman I was a freelance builder, writer and reviewer of aircraft model kits. Things were a lot simpler in those days and reference (accurate or otherwise) was not easy to come by. I/we never envisaged how far these magazines were dispersed let alone behind the 'Iron Curtain'! I looked in the back issues that I still have and I'm afraid I don't have vol.4 no.7. I can remember a cover with a camouflaged PBY on it from about that time, but can't confirm what issue it was. I even looked in some of the later issues because they sometimes advertised available back issues for sale. I'm sure one of our brilliant britmodellers will jump in with detail you need. Just an amusing aside, 'Scale Modeller' and 'Air Classics' were published by 'Challenge Publications' to legitimise the company and as a tax write off because there core business was pornography! By the way, I was in Krakow just 3 months ago. All I can say is what a fantastic city you live in! We loved it. Wonderful people and gorgeous sights to see. I must have just missed you on our walkabouts! Good luck, Mikey W.
  5. Back along, when I worked at Airfix, I remember a story of the then M.D. John Grey receiving a bill from 'Lufthansa' for the use of their Logo on the Airfix 1/144 airliner kits. Mr. Grey, after some deliberation and consultation, sent a bill to 'Lufthansa' for promotion and advertising to the same amount. No more was heard ! Mikey W.
  6. yes Steve, very good build and full marks. I read your w.i.p. and appreciate the education. Can I be a bit of a wet blanket and suggest that the leading edge slats are on backwards. The round edge should be to the fore and the thin or sharp edge to the rear. If you can't change yours then maybe a heads up for anyone else building a Storch. All the best, Mikey W.
  7. I'm another fan of the Tony but what a minefield of sub types. Thanks so much chaps, for the education. For my two penneth worth, I understood that the Aosima kit was THE kit to have. That being especially true for the Ki 100 types. Hope that helps more than hinders. Mikey W.
  8. Those circles on the wing were not painted over roundels but part of the mask when the green was sprayed on. R.A.F. roundels would have been applied there but these 100 p-40's were diverted to China and the A.V.G. The Chinese markings were applied about 1/2 a diameter further outboard than the R.A.F. location. Do not follow the Airfix box illustration ! There are many discussions here on Britmodeller that would cover this and other parts of this topic. I'm Just trying to help you build a more accurate model but if you are just trying to copy a box illustration then I have misunderstood your motivation and apologise. I am following with interest as I too am a closet P-40 fan. Keep up the good work, they are looking good and I'm learning from you. All the best, Mikey W.
  9. Hello Mike, I have been following your posts lately and from your comments and pics of your garden area I get the feeling you are in the south bay area of L.A. If that is so, I am visiting family in Redondo early next month. I am wondering if it would be possible to meet up for a coffee and a yarn or two. Hope to hear from you, Mikey W.

    1. MikeW

      MikeW

      Love the name! I am actually in the Pasadena area, but if you could work a Saturday or Sunday morning, I could head down to the beach, and drink a coffee. (I'm in the office Mon - Fri, and evening traffic from here would be around 90 minutes - one of the drawbacks to L.A. )

      Mike

  10. Hello Dennis, I take your point about the Spitfire kit panel lines. As the others have said it is a beautiful build. Could I suggest you look at the previous incarnation of the Airfix Spitfire. It's the mid 1970's vintage kit reissued many times up to the 2000's. It is just as accurate and has much more refined panel lines. It's still fairly available on the likes of Evil-Bay. Push comes to shove it's my preferred early Spitfire. It only comes with the D/H prop but you could get the new kit/s for the detail or optional parts. I hope my comments are of use to you. All the best, Mike W.
  11. You've got it bang on Tony. The lighter Chinese insignia would be for the upper wing as this is more exposed to the elements. Sun, sand, u/v, wind and rain would bleach the uppers much more than the unders. You also pegged the position of the insignia correctly. PLEASE fellow modellers DO NOT follow the Airfix box instructions. Again Tony, very nice build on your Hawk. Mikey W.
  12. That was a great video. Agreed you cannot asertain specific colours from an old film but the variation from plane to plane is amazing. You can also pick out patch repairs and field mods by the use of fresh or even 'at hand' paint. Did you notice the mixture of airframes ? Some had mid upper turrets just behind the cockpit, some had the turret above the waist position and a couple had no mid upper turret at all ! Shame those guys clearly didn't have propper referance material like we do ! Mikey W
  13. Hello Paulo, Looks like your doing the complete 'dog's dangleys' on this P-40. I too have built this kit and loved it, as I have most of the 'new' Airfix offerings. Can I make a few comments that I hope you will find helpful. Your cockpit interior colour appears to be Zink Chromate. While this is the interior protective colour ( more a material description than a colour designator ) it was judged to be too harsh on the eyes so some black was added to mellow it out. This gives the interior or cockpit green we are familiar with. This applys to virtually all U.S. WW II aircraft, Army and Navy. Dazzio pointed out the issue with the faded wing insignia but I feel the Airfix ones are far too pale. I used some Microscale ones I had been saving for a decent P-40 kit. They are a bit darker than the kits but the underwing ones need to be darker still. While on the subject of wing insignia, do not follow the location as shown on the kit. The circular areas in brown are from the Curtis paint masks and were the intended location for the R.A.F. roundels. The Chinese insignia were placed further out towards the wing tip. The previous two points can be seen in the photos you have posted. Further verification can be seen in the Osprey book. Do take into consideration that staining/bleaching coming from the port side rear window panel is spilt fuel coming from the filler caps in the said rear window panel. Just a point of interest, in case it comes up in pub quiz, after the war Charles Older became a Judge in the Los Angeles area. He was the one whe presided over the Charles Manson trial ! Anyway keep up the good work and thank you for your contributions. Mikey W.
  14. Am I getting this right when I gather that the wires running from the fuselage roundel to the horizontal stabilizer tip on a spitfire would only be correct from Oct./Nov. 1940 ? About the time they introduced the Spitfire Mk II then. Any other aircraft from the same period fitted likewise ? Could someone expand on what " Pip-Squeak " was. The reading I have done on the Battle of Britain refers to this quite often. I understand that it showed up on the Radar screen as a marker so that would make it an I.F.F. of some type wouldn't it ? As always, thanks for the education and enlightenment. Mikey W.
  15. Alan, Just a quick comment before you stick that cockpit assembly into the fuselage. Sand or scrape a few thousanth of an inch off the edges in the area of the wing attachment. Basically from mid fuel tank to, and including the verticle sides of the instrument panel. That way the fuselage won't be made over width and will not flatten out the wing's dihederal when the wings are fitted. While you are in the area it is worthwhile sanding or scrapeing the bottom edge of the wing fillet that fits over the wheel well. Thin this down to about half thickness that way the fuselage will fit the wing much better and without struggle or filler. Have fun with this as it's a great kit. Mikey W.
  16. Simon, As I've always understood it...U. S. WW II era interior primer was Zinc Chromate ( bilouos yellow in colour - 33481). This description is more to the material than to any colour. The authorities could not inflict this on the crews eyes so the simple expediant was to add a bit of black to the material so as to present a more comfortable colour ( interior Green - 34151). This was applied to cockpits and in the case of bombers, patrol planes etc. the fuselage interiors as well. I hope this helps. All the best, Mikey
  17. Hey fernando, I'm sure some olive drabs have red in them but I still contend that you get an olive drab by mixing black and yellow. Have you tried it ? With your assertion of red in the mix it could explain the fading with a tan, pink, violet hue and all shades in between. Thanks for your feedback even if I don't completely agree. All the best, Mikey W.
  18. I remember having similar discussions at my I.P.M.S. chapter, in calif., back in the sixties. We talked to veterans,factory workers and museum staff. The veterans were the worst source for colour matters even at that early date. It had little bearing on staying alive after all. Our basic findings were that Olive drab was a mix of black and yellow ( try it ! ) and each factory had differant suppliers and they had differant suppliers and Formula. When mixing colours you can never mix the same colour twice. Added to this was that the earlier paint had a poor infrared tolerance. It faded outdoors sun or shine. You do need sunblock on your skin at the beach even if its cloudy don't you ! Later on in the war the quality of infrared tolerance improved. Paint, when applied, will vary depending on the surface that it is applied to, the method of application ( spray or brush ), amount of thinner used, etc. So the colour is going to change, over time, even if the same tin is used on the same plane. A metal suface and fabric one is going to wear and fade differantly. The U.S. aircraft built during WW II did not use the highest grade of Aluminum. Just look at the Japanese wrecks pulled from the Pacific compared to the American equivalents. So coupled to paint material issues we have a high degree of oxidation thrown into the equasion. As with anything to do with colour it is a MINEFIELD ! Do your reasearch to your best ability but don't go insane because exact colour is not going to happen. As a seperate coment, I liked that P-40 assembly line picture but I have to say it'a printed backwards. This is based on the rudder hinge and the rear cockpit panel fuel fillers. All the best and HAPPY modeling. Mikey W.
  19. I have to agree, it's a stunner. So far the only 'DOH !' issue is that there is a tail wheel access door on starboard side of the fin that should'nt be there. Hardly a game stopper but............I do agree with Niles that flaps area bummer especially after the 109E and Mustang then this one is a bit retrograde. Last but not least, the plastic is noticeably harder than previous Airfix offerings.
  20. The first and most obvious differance is that the carb intake is on the port side of each cowling for the 'P' and the starboard for the 'H'. I hope that helps. All the best, Mikey W.
  21. Thanks Jack, That's a very interesting site. There is plenty on there to get me started. Thank's very much for the pointer. Mike W.
  22. No, sorry Troy. The One I'm looking for was with larger panels of colour and not splotches. Thanks anyway for the reply. Mike W.
  23. I'd like your help chaps and chapess's as well of course. I'm going to do a 109 E and I've chosen a 1940 JG 53 one this time. This is the one with largish green areas and patches of RLM 02. I've got several profile views but nothing even giving a hint of the wing paterns. Now I know I've seen a photo put up somewhere on the ' Interweb ' in the last few weeks but do you think I can find it ? If you can help me it will meen that much more precious modelling time for me. I'm also working on how to post pics. of my finished efforts. Thanks in advance to all my new found 'Mates' in advance for your guidance. Mike W.
  24. Of all the new Airfix kits this has to be the worst. Don't get me wrong, It's a fun kit to buid but accurate... No! Apart from the previously mentioned, the underside shape of the whole nacelle is way wrong. The nose is also missing several key panel lines. The fin and rudder is also off. I also HIGHLY reccomend the Eduard Kit. Take a look at the pictures on the 'Net'. It is better than the pictures can show. Good luck and happy moddeling.
  25. I'm anouther one who rates this Mustang kit very highly as, it must be said, all of the latest incarnation of Airfix aircraft. The only fit issue I've had with this kit is the wing/under engine joint. I put this down to the top of the wheel well interfearing with the thickness of the wing fillet. It was a simple cure by whittleing down the forward half of the wing fillet's thickness by about half. It's not much but it allows the roof of the wheel well to tuck in enough to allow the extention of the wing/engine rear to sit in place rather than have to be streched, glued and clamped. My general comment to Airfix would be to please use a plastic that cures a LITTLE harder. I really love the seperate rudder and flaps. How about setting the standard Airfix and make all the control surfaces as seperate parts ! Now I would like to pass on a little info not generally found in any books that I've come across. As a lad I lived next door to a chap who worked at North American at Mines field in Los Angeles during the war. His name was Metro Kawalshin for posterity. It's now L.A.X. after having had a few modifications ! He was looking at a P-51 model that I had made for "Scale Modeller" magazine. He was complimentary but pointed out that the wings would NOT be natural metal. As he explained, The wing was of Laminar Flow and as such was airflow Critical. No surface flaws could be tolerated as this would have a major detrimental affect to lift and drag. To this end the metal was primed, puttied, sanded, sealed and painted. Uncamouflaged planes had silver wings (mainplanes). The only panels you would see were the control surfaces, ammo/gun hatches, and landing gear doors. Any one who had need to walk on the wings had to wear overshoes so as not to damage the surface ! Did you know that the majority of the assembly lines were outdoors at North American, Lockheed and I presume Douglas ! God I miss that weather. Anyway I hope I have helped make some of your models a little bit more realistic, understandable and enjoyable.
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